In a unique bundle of expertise, Fairphone, PGGM, ING, ABN AMRO, NBA, Allen & Overy, Circularise, MVO NL, Circle Economy and Sustainable Finance Lab will work together in the “Fairphone-as-a-Service Community of Practice” (CoP). The aim is to gain insights into the possibilities of and preconditions for a viable business model that no longer sells smartphones, but offers them as a service instead. The CoP is organized by the Sustainable Finance Lab and Circle Economy within the Netherlands Circulair programme and will run from June to October 2017.Fairphone aims to incentivise the industry to design and commercialise long-lasting, repairable smartphones. In order to accomplish this, product ownership needs to be left in the hands of the manufacturer rather than the customer. Manufacturers can then be responsible for the product, and customers can be assured that their device is both functional and durable.
Photo credit: FairphoneThe CoP is using Fairphone as a springboard to explore how contractual agreements between stakeholders, such as financiers, suppliers, insurers and customers, can enable product-as-a-service business models; what possibilities and opportunities these business models afford, and the scenarios where they are both achievable and financeable. The goal? To practically apply the service model to Fairphone business customers.Participating organisations bring together cross-disciplinary knowledge and expertise: from lawyers, insurers, bankers and accountants, to software developers, business economists, academics, and other experts in the field of the circular economy. Their combined efforts will be exploring the challenges, roadblocks and opportunities that lie ahead. The learnings will be documented and published in a white paper for other businesses, the financial sector, governments, and other interested parties to learn from. The ultimate goal is to practically apply the service model to Fairphone’s business to business customers.The CoP members actively contribute to the development of new business models that can bring the circular economy closer.Learn more about Fairphone's goals and ambitions here.
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Interested in learning more about the outcomes of this Community of Practice?
